Kira lied there on the ground, trying to find the strength to stand, or at least sit up.

"M-Mario…" she moaned quietly. She received no response. Finally, although she struggled, she sat up, and this used a prodigious amount of her strength.

She knew what she had to do.

She knew Mario would hate her for it.

Kira took the bag that was beaming with the pure magic it held. She had gone so far…too far to lose the only friend she had left. She knew that she didn't really want to do this, but she had no other option.

She cautiously removed the magic orb from its bag and placed it on Mario. It was by far the strangest thing she ever had to do. Mario absorbed it, and obtained its energy. With a sigh, Kira rolled into a little ball on the ground, in the fetal position. She quietly closed her eyes, sure that they would never open again.

"W-what's going on?" Mario asked, quickly getting to his feet. He felt as energetic as a little kid, and he was very relieved about this. That was until he remembered everything.

Kira was lying there, and she didn't move a single muscle or speak a single word. Her body just moved with the pattern of her light breathing, and Mario had no idea what to do. He was still covered in blood, he still had some pretty bad aches and pains, but other than that, he was fine.

"I-I'm sorry…Mario…" Kira sighed shakily, followed by a cough.

That's when he realized what she had done in order to save his life. And thanks to that, his brother pretty much had no chance of survival.

He sat down and held his head, trying to absorb what was going on. He was going to lose his only brother, and he was lost in this forest, lost in this cruel world. He poked Kira a bit.

"Come on, we have to go…" he choked out, trying not to cry.

"M-Mario…Mario, am I going to die?" she asked, although her eyes remained closed.

"No…" Mario sighed, lifting the sickly young woman over his shoulders. He began to head back towards the Mushroom Kingdom. The legendary Mario had finally failed, and now all he wanted to do was see his little brother one last time, just before he died.

"I'm sorry, Mario…" she apologized, her face becoming pale. "You can kill me now; I-I don't deserve to live…"

"I'm not going to kill you." Mario huffed.

"It's so dark…where are we?"

"We're still in the forest…" Mario sighed, trying to support the weight of Kira as well as himself.

"It's cold…" Kira said quietly. "Are we almost at the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"No…actually, we're very far from it." Mario sighed."Just hang in there, okay?"

"I…I can't…I'm so…so tired."Kira said. "C-could you wake me up when we're there?"

"No, Kira, don't die on me…" Mario said. "You're going to be just fine."

If only he could promise that…

He continued walking, stumbling every now and then. He was sure that it was the end of his brother, and he wasn't even sure if the girl he was holding still had a pulse or not.

Finally, he had to take a break. He sat down on a log, which felt rather hollow, but it would do. He checked Kira's pulse.

It was still there…he was pretty sure that he felt something.

"Mommy…" Kira mumbled so low that it wasn't very audible. "It hurts…"

That's right…her parents had died.

"N-no, Kira!" Mario cried. "Stay with me, you are NOT going to die!"

"P-please…forgive me…" she sniffled quietly, her voice dry and weak.

Mario put his face into his hands. He just couldn't live with himself…but he had to…

For Luigi.

At this point, he didn't know what to think about Kira. She saved his life, but practically killed his only brother; the only family he had. It wasn't entirely her fault, it was only her job. But then again, she had just crushed Mario. Walked all over him.

Mario sighed, picked up the princess, and continued to walk. It was all hopeless now; Luigi was probably dead anyway.

…Right?

One part of Mario thought Kira was a thoughtful, generous, and valiant young woman, while the other part of him saw her as a vile, inconsiderate monster. She was a killing machine, but she also had some kindness in her. She was compassionate, yet she had the nerve to stab you in the back.

I guess you could say, this girl was twisted.

Two chapters in one night? Oh mah!

Welp, authors need to sleep too.

It's so weird how I tend to remind everyone to review…

Anyway, I'm not going to tell you what's going to happen regarding Luigi, but I'll give you a hint…

Luigi's my favorite character. Would you kill your favorite character? Well, I have before, but I guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter…or the one after…IDK…ciao.